


If Mace Windu actually ARRESTED Palpatine

by orphan_account



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Based on Star Wars Theory video, Child Leia Organa (Skywalker), Child Luke Skywalker, Dark Anakin Skywalker, Emperor Anakin Skywalker, Empress Padmé Amidala, F/M, Movie: Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Post-Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Sith Anakin Skywalker, Sith Empire, Suitless Darth Vader, for now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 10,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25784695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-RwECiuJCoThis began with the idea for the video but I am continuing to make it my own.What if Mace Windu did what he was supposed to and ARRESTED Palpatine?In which Padmé is Empress at the side of Anakin, the Emperor of the galaxy, and the two children Leia and Luke are helping their mother turn Anakin back into, well, Anakin. Enjoy!
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Sheev Palpatine & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

Anakin rushed into the scene, his eyes darting from Mace Windu to the chancellor. Windu has the upper hand, pointing his lightsaber at Palpatine... who wielded no weapon.

What was this? A threat to his life? Because any threat to the life of the chancellor also served as a threat to the life of his wife.

 _Padmé_.

"Don't kill him!" Anakin shouted. "He _must_ stand trial!"

Master Windu looked down at the chancellor and then back at Anakin. He must have seen the dangerous fire in his eyes, because he told Anakin to cuff his hands behind his back, handing him the materials to do so.

Greatly relieved, Anakin handcuffed Palpatine and then turned to Master Windu. "Thank you. Please promise me you'll keep him alive."

Master Windu hesitated. "We don't want to kill him."

The darkness to his eyes was back. "You'd better not," Anakin warned him. Master Windu could clearly sense Anakin's emotional state, and Anakin was glad for that. It gave him influence. He had to make sure Padmé was safe, and the only way for that to happen was for the chancellor to be able to teach him the ways of the dark side, as well as the light.

Darkness was so feared, but in order for there to be a balance, Anakin believed both the light and the dark needed to be utilized. Neither could be feared. It was what made both the Jedi and the Sith weak. Anakin would be the most powerful in history. He knew he shouldn't want that, and that Padmé would disprove of that way of thinking.

 _Padmé_.

And that was why he needed power.

It wasn't lust, though that may have played a small role that Anakin would need to address later. This was all about _her_.

***

"It is not a crime to be a Sith Lord."

That was the only thing that Palpatine had going for him.

Everybody in the Senate knew that they could not simply condemn him for being a part of an ancient order. So Master Windu needed to list off some of his crimes in order for him to be convicted.

"He is responsible for assassination attempts on Senator Amidala!" He declared. A gasp went up throughout the room, and Anakin turned to his friend with uncertainty and slight betrayal in his eyes. He needed that dark power, to _save_ Padmé. Had he really been trying to kill her? Did he even care about his family at all, or was he just trying to score a powerful apprentice?

Palpatine shook his head. "This is not true."

Anakin sighed in relief.

"We can provide proof," Master Windu called, and Anakin tensed up again, looking back at Palpatine, who shook his head and shrugged.

"What proof?" He challenged.

The Jedi all shook their heads. They knew that Palpatine had done terrible things; even Anakin knew that. There was a battle between darkness and light already going on inside his head. But for the Jedi to say that he'd tried to kill Padmé without any proof? That was crossing the line.

"And," Palpatine added, "after Anakin was voted onto the Council, they asked him to spy on me."

A gasp went up throughout the Galactic Senate. "Is this true?" Anakin was asked.

Anakin nodded, unable to lie and, for some reason, not wanting to. "Yes." Another collective gasp. Anakin, fire once again igniting inside him, added: "Yes, it is true. I was the chancellor's representative on the Jedi Council, and the first thing they chose to do was use my closeness to him to report on all of his actions."

Master Windu gave Anakin a look, and then hissed, "Whose side are you even on?"

That statement did not bode well for the Jedi.

"I do not believe Chancellor Palpatine is guilty of said crimes," Anakin hissed back at him. He kind of wished the senate would just stop gasping.

Things were not looking great for the Jedi. Things were looking up for Chancellor Palpatine.

 _Things were looking up for Padmé_.

Anakin smiled, grateful for the chancellor's influence on the Galactic Senate, ignoring the betrayal in all the eyes of the Jedi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, this is something I saw in the mentioned Star Wars Theory video, and I just had a sudden urge to write it. However I will be straying from it slightly, and after I have reached where the video ended, I will continue to create this story. I hope you enjoy it and may the Force be with you!


	2. Chapter 2

"Anakin!"

"Padmé!"

They each surged forward, pressing against each other in a warm hug. "He was right, you didn't die, he must have saved you..." Anakin murmured.

"What?"

Anakin shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You're here and the baby is here and -"

"Babies." Padmé's lips curled into a smile at Anakin's shock. Two babies? Twins? " _Twins_ ," she confirmed.

Anakin gasped like the Senate during the chancellor's hearing. "Padmé, this is amazing. We have a family." He gave her a sweet kiss on the lips. "A _family_ , Padmé. And you didn't die."

"Forget that, Ani." She held him close. "Do you want to come to see the babies?" She asked tentatively.

Anakin's smile was huge. "Of course I do, Padmé."

She slowly led him to the nursery. Padmé's home on Naboo was where she'd decided to lay her children, who, seeming to sense their father's presence, woke as soon as he entered the room. "What did you name them?"

Padmé giggled. "I have names in mind, but I was wondering if maybe you wanted to help name them as well."

Anakin smiled. He realized that seeing his wife so happy trumped any emotions he'd felt anywhere else - betrayal to the Jedi order, anger, or even the lust for power he needed to snuff out. "I'm no good at naming - what did you have in mind?"

"I want to name the boy Luke," Padmé said with a smile, looking into his crib and reaching in to tickle him. The way he giggled made Anakin's heart melt as he grabbed her finger.

"Luke." Anakin tried out the name. He looked at his joyful son and beautiful wife. "I like that. Luke."

Padmé looked lovingly at her husband. "I felt like a name like Luke, meaning 'giver of light,' was quite fitting for the son of a Jedi."

Suddenly all of Anakin's dark thoughts, hatred, and anger came flooding back to him. "The Jedi," he hissed under his breath. They were going to raise his son, Luke, giver of light, to be just that. Only light, afraid of the dark. The darkness that had clearly saved his wife from death. And he was just going to use half of his potential power -

"Is everything okay, Ani?" Padmé asked, concerned by the disturbed look on Anakin's face.

Anakin forced a smile, which quickly became genuine when he looked back over at his children. "Oh, yes, I'm wonderful! I can't believe we have such beautiful babies... beautiful like their mother." Padmé giggled as he grabbed her waist and pulled her into a kiss. After a few seconds, they broke away. "I was just thinking about how impossible this is. I can't even believe..."

"I was thinking about naming the baby Leia," Padmé interrupted fondly. "What do you think?"

"What does that one mean?" Anakin wondered.

"Child of heaven," she said with a smile at her husband and then at her daughter.

"Child of heaven. Child of you." Anakin smiled at her blush as the corners of her mouth turned up. "It seems fitting."

"Leia," she said sweetly, reaching in to tickle Leia like she had Luke. Anakin stroke his daughter's face.

"Leia," he repeated, unable to believe that he'd done it. He'd gotten Padmé to fall in love with him as he'd fallen in love with her, and here they were, in _their_ home, looking down at _their_ children... they were now two haves of a whole.

Anakin's bliss dissappeared. "What are we going to tell the Jedi? I could be in so much trouble for this, and I'm already not on entirely complete terms because I didn't believe Chancellor Palpatine tried to murder you - wait, did he?"

Padmé's face twisted in confusion. "What? No! The chancellor would never try that."

"The Jedi made that claim," he informed her. "A false claim. They had no proof. They just kept saying he was a Sith Lord."

Padmé's eyes were unreadable. "Is he?"

Anakin nodded. "But that's not a crime. You're on the Senate, you should know. Why weren't you there, by the way?"

Padmé shrugged. "I was having babies, and that's usually a good reason to not show up, especially when the Galactic Senate has _plenty_ of other representatives from different planets in different star systems and..."

"Makes sense." Anakin sighed. "This will be the final straw for the Jedi, but I'm not sure I even care to be a part of the order anymore."

"Anakin, don't say things like that!" Padmé chided.

"But it's true," Anakin pressed.

"We can run away together." Padmé moved up close to him and put her hands on his chest. "Live life how we want to live. With our children. They're clearly force sensitive, but you can train them. You're amazing."

"I'll need to tell the chancellor," Anakin decided. Padmé's face twisted in confusion.

"Uh... why?"

"He's been training me," he admitted. "Teaching me the ways of the dark side ever since his trial."

"Anakin!"

"I know." Anakin pulled her into an embrace and stroked her back. "But it saved you. It saved your life. I know it."

"I don't think I was ever going to die," she insisted.

"But I'm becoming more and more powerful!" Anakin pointed out.

"Anakin... we can raise a family," Padmé reminded him sweetly. "And be happy."

The look on his wife's face made all his willpower to stay with the world melt. "We will go where nobody will care. We will raise our children." He smiled and hugged her. "Oh Padmé, your puppy eyes are as convincing as my own Jedi mind tricks."

Padmé giggled into his arms and tilted up her head to kiss him on the lips. For that blissful moment, everything was perfect, and the Skywalkers were a perfectly happy family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So at this point, you're supposed to be all happy with that nice little family fluff. I hope I wrote it well. I also hope I'm not losing readers by going way too deep, lol. I do write very emotional sometimes, but it's sometimes funny too so I don't know - if you continue to read this as it will probably get long you'll get used to my writing style.
> 
> I hope you like this so far!


	3. Chapter 3

"Obi-Wan!" Anakin ran to embrace his master. "Where have you been?"

Obi-Wan gave him a look. "Doing the average Jedi things when you're trying to bring a war to a close. I should really be the one asking where _you_ _'ve_ been."

Anakin bit his lip and looked down, which only made Obi-Wan more curious. "Anakin... disobeying orders, I presume?"

Anakin decided that would get him in less trouble anyway, and considering it wasn't exactly a lie, he just went with that. "Yes, disobeying orders, sorry master." He hoped Obi-Wan would drop it, but he indeed did _not_.

"Since when are you so quick to admit to something?" Obi-Wan's face twisted in a strange questioning matter. "What were you really doing?"

Anakin sighed and decided to continue talking around it, not yet revealing that he had been in a relationship. "I was checking on Padmé and, uh, her babies." He hoped his eyes did not betray his secret, but Obi-Wan seemed to be putting the pieces together already.

"Do you know who the father of her children is?" Obi-Wan carefully asked him. "I do not believe she had told anybody of this marriage before, and still will not reveal to me."

"She refuses to say who he is," Anakin said emotionlessly. Which was true. Technically, he had yet to utter a single lie in this conversation. He disobeyed orders. He was checking on Padmé and her children. She wouldn't tell anyone he was the father, for fear of getting him in deep trouble. Still, he knew he was already going to be in deep trouble, and his stomach dropped as he realized this was probably going to be the conversation in which that scandalous piece on information got out.

"But do _you_ know?" Obi-Wan pressed. He must have sensed Anakin's half-truthfulness. Anakin took a deep breath.

"Yes," he said quietly. Still hadn't said it. Still hadn't told him. Still in the clear -

"Who is it?"

Anakin looked down and began playing with his fingers, which he figured said it all. But Obi-Wan once again asked, "What? Is it somebody I know? Is there a problem with this?"

Anakin sighed, partially in relief and partially in heartbreak at how his master trusted him so much he wouldn't jump to such a conclusion. "Yes. You know him. And there is definitely a problem with this." He sat down on to a bench and buried his head in his hands. The Jedi were the reason his mother was gone, and the reason his relationship was secret, and the reason that the chancellor was almost in very big trouble before he began to finally begin to construct his empire. He owed nothing to them. But he still loved his master like a father. He couldn't bear to break the news to him.

Obi-Wan sat down next to him and put his arm around him, looking down at him. _Like a father._ This was the man who raised him and taught him everything he knew, and even now, he sat down next to him to comfort him and sweetly help him get through a hard conversation. Anakin did not deserve this. "Anakin, you can tell me anything. I won't get angry."

Anakin knew it would be unbecoming of a Jedi - or literally any grown man - to cry, so he held back his tears. "I... I know I wasn't supposed to. It's against everything in the Jedi code, it's gonna get me in such big trouble." He looked up at Obi-Wan. "Master... droids are the only witness to my marriage to Padmé. We couldn't have anyone knowing I had so grossly disrespected the Jedi code, but... I'm the father. Those children are mine."

Obi-Wan sat in shock, but did not pull away and curse him and run off to tell the council like Anakin had expected. Instead, he said, "Anakin... I must say that I was initially surprised by your revelation, but now I realize that this is not surprising at all." He shook his head. "I should have seen it. You always cared for her. You always put the mission on hold for her. I should have known you loved her. The Jedi shouldn't have forced you into keeping this relationship a secret. I never cared for that particular rule." He shook his head again, even more sadly this time. "But Anakin... this is not okay. I hope you can forgive me, but I have to tell the Jedi council."

Anakin sighed. "Honestly, it feels good to have that off my chest. And Padmé and I are running away to live our own life. I'm already not in a great relationship with the Jedi right now, and I don't need them to regulate my use of the Force anyway. I'm leaving."

He noticed that his master didn't try to stop him as he got up and walked away. "I respect your decision. But I will miss you," he told him as his apprentice walked off into the sunset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too deep? Definitely.  
> Am I sorry? Definitely NOT.  
> Hope you enjoyed a little master/apprentice (and sort of father/son) bonding there, even though it's kind of a goodbye. But wait, there's more! Plot twist ahead - continue reading and thank you for reading this fanfiction!


	4. Chapter 4

"Well if it isn't my dear friend Skywalker," Palpatine/Darth Sidious/Whatever said when Anakin entered his office along with Padmé. "And his..." his smile faltered. "Beautiful wife. What a surprise."

Anakin's jaw set and he took a deep breath. "I am deeply grateful for your training, and given that Padmé did not die, I am quite certain it saved her life." Padmé bit her lip and looked down at the ground, grabbing one of her arms. While her disapproval was no secret, she still did not interrupt him. "I have no intention to honor my commitment to the Jedi, but rather the Force, and particularly its light side. Understanding the ways of the dark side has lived through its usefulness." He looked over at Padmé lovingly.

"We're leaving," she told the chancellor. "I'll resign as a senator and he will no longer be a Jedi. We're running away to our own life with our children." She twined her fingers with Anakin, who she gave a reassuring smile to.

"I must thank you deeply, once again, for helping me save her life." Anakin bowed slightly and then turned, along with Padmé, to leave the room.

Chancellor Palpatine huffed. "It looks like the woman has outlived her usefulness as well."

Anakin turned his head slightly, confusion on his face. "Huh?"

In a very much not Chancellor Palpatine but rather Darth Sidious fashion, he thrust his hands out and shocked Padmé with his Force lightning, causing her to cry out and writhe on the floor in pain. "Now that you have become a problem, you must die. Die!"

"What?!" Anakin sprung into action, pulling out his lightsaber and violently attacking Darth Sidious as to defend Padmé. "You said you cared!" He swung his lightsaber lethally, which Sidious blocked. "You said you wanted to save her from dying!" He struck again. While his skills were very much impressive, Padmé was shocked and called out to him.

"Ani! Stop it!" She cried. "This isn't you! Remember your Jedi training!"

Anakin looked back at Padmé, danger in his flickering eyes. "I owe nothing to the Jedi." He turned back and stabbed right through Sidious, who fell over quickly, his look of shock and pain frozen on his face as he fell to the ground. When he looked back at Padmé, his eyes had stopped flickering.

They were Sith yellow.

Padmé blinked twice...

...and then began to sob. Her tears flowed like a stream out of her eyes, and Anakin, surprised by this display of emotion, moved to her side and put a hand on her shoulder, completely lovestruck. "Padmé - what's wrong?" He asked, extremely kindly. When Padmé looked up again, his eyes were still yellow. But they were strangely sympathetic. Like... a monster of a human being who actually cared about her.

"You, you're wrong, everything about you!" She buried her head in his shoulder. "You just killed somebody, Ani. _Killed_ somebody."

"I killed the sand people too," he reminded her. "The whole village."

"That was different. You showed remorse."

"I killed Count Dooku," he added.

"You were still sorry," she pointed out, still upset but no longer crying. Her red eyes and tear-stained cheeks spoke to Anakin like no words could, no matter how eloquent she was.

"He was trying to kill you," Anakin whispered. His eyes once again began to flicker. "But now he can't. Because I killed him. And now I take his Empire."

"Empire?!"

"He was trying to construct it." Anakin stood up and went to stare out the recently repaired window, where Mace Windu would have been killed if he hadn't decided to arrest the chancellor. "And now I'll finish what he started. I'll be the Emperor."

"Anakin!"

Anakin turned back to her, and his smile was genuine. He loved her, that much was clear and plain to see. He was the old Anakin, the bright person she'd fallen in love with. But his eyes were yellow, and his words were, "Padmé, come with me! You are my wife, my most beloved... you can rule as the Empress by my side! And we can construct the galaxy to be exactly as you wish!"

Padmé was extremely conflicted. Because his look of happiness and hopefulness was _real_. This was the _real_ Anakin. But his words were that of a Sith Lord, as were his eyes. Padmé couldn't accept an offer like that.

"Ani - I'm a senator. A part of a republic. A democracy!" Tears began to flow down her cheeks again. "I love you! I love the look on your face because it reminds me of _you_ , a person who would never say such things! Anakin, I don't -" She choked on her words, but forced them out. "I don't know you anymore!"

Anakin was shocked that his offer had been declined. A look of heartbreak - true _Anakin_ heartbreak - crossed his face. And then his Sith personality returned - his words, his eyes, and now his expressions were all that of a person Padmé never married.

"Then I don't know you." Anakin thrust her against the wall and stood over her. Her fearful eyes were the only reason he didn't end her then and there. "My love is my only weakness, yet for some reason, I cannot seem to fight it. So I will allow you to escape unharmed." He used the Force to slide open the door. "Go!"

Padmé bolted towards the doors and then turned around one more time to take one last look at the person she loved. Only it wasn't him. "I love you, Anakin!"

"From here on out, you will only know me as..." Anakin thought for a moment. "Darth Vader."

Padmé could barely handle all of her emotions. "But I love Anakin!" And as she said that, the doors closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, this is not the end, hang in there.
> 
> I will continue to update for those of you who have given this fanfiction the time of day. I can't wait to see where I decide to go with this, since this is basically how the video I based it off of ended (link in summary), I'm going to begin to add some more plot twists. See you at the next update!


	5. Chapter 5

**Five years after Chapter Four**

Darth Vader, Emperor of the galaxy, awaited his reports. He had asked specifically for a prisoner with high ranking in the Rebellion, specifically so that he could get information out of her - even if he had to torture her to do so. If he could find the rebel base and destroy it, there would no longer be threats to the Galactic Empire to sway the thoughts of those with no opinion of it. He considered his rule peaceful, but when he was crossed, it was not pretty. Most of the galaxy had by this point learned their lesson to avoid angering him, or anyone representing him.

"We have your prisoner, my lord." In chains was a female who kept her eyes trained on the ground so that Vader could not see her face.

"She is from the Rebellion?" He checked.

"Yes. She has the most information out of anyone there - you should find her quite useful."

"Leave her with me," Vader dismissed. With his guards and representatives gone, he looked down at her. "I suppose you will make the wise choice and surrender the information to me?" He knew it was a long shot, but wouldn't torture her if she would simply give him the information.

He expected her to look up at that moment, to shout that she would never cave, never consciously betray the Rebellion - shout like a true hero and make him laugh and he tortured her. But instead... she just continued to hide her face and remain silent.

"Can you hear me?" No response. "Are you deaf then?" No response. Vader rose from his seat and began to dangerously walk towards her, his cloak flowing behind him, his hood giving an even more ominous look to his yellow eyes. Once they had been blue, but that was a long forgotten and rather trivial fact. "I know you can hear me. I can sense it in the Force."

"I can hear you," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Excelent." He stopped circling her. "Then will you tell me where the rebel base is, so that I do not have to torture you? Or will you keep looking at the ground, hiding your face from me like a coward?"

He expected this to make her burst into rage at being called a coward, but apparently she was controlled and meek, like a Jedi. But she was not a Jedi - that would be something he could sense. She had little force sensitivity.

"Well?" The deathly calmness in his voice followed up.

"I just can't bear to look at you," she whispered to the floor. "To see what you've become," he voice said in a more full and yet still tender tone.

He gasped. He knew that voice. He could have guessed who she was before she tentatively looked up at him. "It hurts worse to see it in person than it does to know, somewhere in the back of my head, that you changed."

"Padmé," he whispered, knowing he wasn't maintaining his Sith face but not bothered by it. She'd seen all kinds of facial expressions from him, but she still knew he was a Sith. "You're the prisoner?"

"I won't tell you where the rebel base is." Her voice cracked. "Even... if you have to torture me." A tear ran down her cheek. "Though I'm not sure there is much worse torture than seeing what you have become again."

He had detached himself from emotion years ago, and convinced himself that now that Padmé was turned against him, he couldn't love her. But she seemed to still remember their love, from before they were enemies. And it forced him to remember it too. He couldn't bear to see her cry, and wanted to comfort her like he always used to. But that was no longer an option. "Padmé, I can't torture you."

Padmé looked up at him, hopefully. "Do you love me?"

He sighed. "It's hard not to. But while you can unfortunately expect special treatment - like the knowledge I will always spare your life and never torture you - but I must have information. I will make you cooperate, Padmé."

"How?" She challenged. "How will you manage to make me cooperate?"

"If your mind is strong enough to resist my mind tricks, then... I will come up with something." He sighed. "But, just for one last time..." before the Sith inside him could bang on his brain and make him stop, he pulled her into a kiss. It was supposed to be quick, like a reminder of what they'd once had. He even expected her to pull away. But instead she fully kissed him back. She embraced him. And _then_ she pulled away.

"I shouldn't have done that," she said. Then she looked back up at him. "That's not the first time I've done that, you know. I keep kissing you when I know I shouldn't do it."

"I needed a reminder of our love," he whispered. "To make me not torture you. Because I will say, I have been consumed by my Sith spirit and would not hesitate to kill you if you weren't... well, _you_." Then he pushed away from her. "But I need to know where that base is. So I can destroy it."

"That doesn't have to be our last kiss, Anakin!" Padmé called to him desperately.

"That's not my name!" He shouted. Then he took a deep breath. "Yes. It has to be. As long as you refuse to join the Empire, it has to be." Then he reached out with his hand, and calmly stated, "Now you will tell me the location of your rebel base."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, cliffhanger!  
> I know this is fricking crazy - four updates in a day? Every time I finish one I'm like "That's it for today" and basically sign off in the endnotes, only to add another. I'm really going with this story... oh no, that can only mean... impending writer's block.  
> Enjoy the story as best you can before it overtakes me as the dark side overtook Anakin!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, so we get Padmé's POV today instead of Anakin's interpretation of Padmé's POV.

Padmé knew that she had to resist, but it was _so_ hard. She had never been able to feel the Force, and her husband was a powerful Sith Lord. So it didn't make sense that she was able to choke out, "No."

Maybe Anakin was inside Darth Vader and was making him hold back. Or maybe she just had a really, really, really, really strong willpower. Either way... Vader was _angry_ with this.

"What do you mean _no_?" He dangerously asked her, coming even closer to her, so that their noses were almost touching. He stared at her with dangerous Sith yellow eyes, whispering ominously.

"I mean no, I will _not_ tell you the location of the rebel base." Padmé tried to keep her voice even, not allowing herself to be scared. This was still the face of the person who loved her, right? But it wasn't. And she knew it. "So what? Are you going to torture me?"

"I can't," he whispered, glaring at her. "You are my weakness and I will find a way to conquer it. But for now, you will be taken as my prisoner. Guards!" He shouted. Padmé did not struggle, cooperating just fine.

Padmé wasn't sure what it would take to convince Vader that he was Anakin, but she knew she would do everything in her power to find a way. He loved her enough not to kill her, or even torture her, so Anakin was still in there (and he knew it). But she needed a plan - a _good_ plan. A _foolproof_ plan. And a great place to come up with said plan was in a nice, quiet, probably extremely uncomfortable prison cell.

She was haunted by the kiss he'd given her - the one she _knew_ she shouldn't have responded to. But she'd been starved of his lips for so long, it felt good to just pretend they were in love again, and that nothing in the last five years had ever happened. That she and Anakin were raising their children; that she hadn't sent off her daughter and son separate ways. _Anakin's children_. Not Vader's. And now she just wanted to pretend even more, even accept his offer to join him, just so she could be on the same side as him for once. But she knew she couldn't. Not after everything. Not if she wanted to maintain her moral code.

And that was how her plan hit her.

She knew exactly what she was going to do.

***

"Are you ready to cooperate?" Anakin - no, no, no, _Vader_ asked her as he circled her. She took a deep breath.

"Yes."

She saw his face struggle to contain his surprise as he asked her, "Then what is the location of the rebel base?"

"The planet Yavin's fourth moon," she whispered, trying to sound as if she was broken, defeated, and this wasn't all a part of a plan she'd crafted overnight instead of sleeping. How could she sleep, anyway?

"How do I know you aren't lying?" He challenged, continuing to circle her.

She looked up at him. "Isn't that the kind of thing you can sense in the Force? I'm sorry, I don't know much about it." By doing this, she established that she couldn't be lying because she thought he could sense it and that she didn't claim any knowledge of the power that fed his arrogance. It... seemed to do the trick, because Anakin - _no, for heaven's sake Padmé, stop saying that_. Because _Darth Vader_ stopped circling her and nodded.

"Very well then." Then he hesitated, and asked, "What made you change your mind?"

"I figured it is too late to take the offer you gave me five years ago... so I may as well do anything to help you now." She looked down. "I wish I had a time machine. Some way to go back and tell myself to just take your offer and rule by your side. I guess I missed my chance." Now that was a lie - she never could stand with an Empire. But if An - if Vader thought that she did, then maybe he would...

"It's not too late to join me," he whispered softly.

...say exactly that.

Padmé put her hopefully okay acting skills to use and looked up at him tenderly. "You really think so?"

"I know so. For heaven's sake, I _am_ me. I'm in charge of when my own offer expires, and the answer is _never_." He held out his hand to her. "So you do with to rule by my side?"

"We never got a divorce," she reminded him. "So technically if I wanted to it wouldn't be hard." She took his hand and looked confidently into his eyes.

The plan was simple. When Palpatine was the chancellor, he slowly turned him to the dark side because Anakin did not know that he was doing it. He thought they were on the same side. If Padmé began to plant seeds in his head about the light, and draw him back... they could have that happy marriage that Padmé fantasized about every day. She could go back for her daughter and son, explain they were related, and they could be perfect. So for now, she held his hand as he gave her the first real smile he had in years.

But for some reason, even though it was real, it was cold.

Padmé was going to turn it warm again.


	7. Chapter 7

"Wow," Padmé whispered. "You know, it's been five years since I've actually thought of you having a room, and you know, eating and sleeping and doing normal human things," she explained. "Most people picture you just hanging out in ominous throne rooms these days."

That actually earned a genuine laugh from Anakin-Vader. "Yeah, I suppose that is the kind of image they'd get. And honestly, kind of the image I want them to have. Except for you, of course." He brushed a hair behind her ear. "You're still my angel."

Padmé still remembered the first day he called her that. He had been nine years old and honestly pretty eccentric, and then he had become the hero who everyone looked up to as the Chosen One. But instead of destroying the Sith he destroyed the Jedi, and the only ones with potential who Padmé knew of were her own two children. Even still, Anakin was still the only Sith who appeared to exist either. There wasn't very much of either order in the galaxy anymore. "And you're still the hilarious kid on Tatooine who called me an angel."

"I hate Tatooine," Anakin said with distaste, his cold tone beginning to return. Desperate to hold on to what seemed to be a show of the real Anakin, she spoke up again, changing the subject to something that would make him happy.

"Well then you'll be happy to get your son off of there," Padmé informed him. His eyes lit up.

"My son is on Tatooine?! We'd better get him off that planet... like _now_." Anakin stood up and took Padmé's hand. She stood up and smiled at him, and she stared into his eyes, which - for a single millisecond - flickered blue.

This made her heart warm and her hopes soar. "We'd better."

***

Padmé knocked on the door, and an answer called out, "Who is it?"

"Padmé Amidala," she called back. "I'm here to visit my son!"

"Now, of all times? I was just about to make him take a nap. He's had a rough day," Beru's voice grumbled as she opened the door.

"I can do it, he's my son," Padmé offered. But Beru was frozen still, shock on her face.

"Anakin, you better not be doing that," Padmé scolded him. He shrugged.

"I'm not. She's just scared. And I mean, she has every right to be." He didn't sound the least be remorseful. "Snap out of it!" He snapped his fingers and she did.

"Padmé! Why have you given him the location of his son?" Beru's eyes were stuck on Anakin, who she knew simply as Darth Vader, who looked pretty ominous dressed in black with his bloodshot yellow eyes and -

"Because he's the father," Padmé snapped. "Why do you think? He has every right to see his son!"

"He'll kill him!" Beru sputtered.

Anakin growled. "Kill my son? I would never! Though if you haven't taken good care of him for these five years, I may kill you."

Padmé put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a look. "Ani... control yourself."

"Ani? You call Darth Vader Ani?" Beru was still in total shock from the whole thing. "Padmé... what even -"

"His name is Anakin," Padmé shot at her. Anakin went to correct her, so before he could, she ordered, "Now let us in to see our son!"

"You say 'our' like you group yourself together with that monster!" Beru was still incredulous, but allowed them in.

Anakin, of course, threw his hood back when he saw his little five-year-old son look up at him. Padmé had brought him here knowing he'd want to drop the Sith thing for a few minutes to make a good impression on his children. "Hey, little Luke."

"Who are you?" He asked sweetly, giving him a funny look. Then he gasped. "You're that guy in my memories! The one I couldn't identify!" He turned to Padmé. "Mommy, who is this?"

Padmé could basically see Anakin's heart melt when he called her "Mommy." Like for now they could just pretend to not be a completely broken family. "This is your father, Anakin," she introduced. She saw Anakin make a move to correct her - but he must have realized that saying no, he was Darth Vader wasn't going to make his child like him very much.

"Hey Daddy," he greeted with a sweet little smile that made Anakin's eyes even flicker to blue for a second. "Auntie Beru and Uncle Owen won't tell me very much about you. Just every time I say I wanna be a Jedi like you, they tell me I don't! Why?"

Anakin's eyes flickered back to yellow as he took a deep breath to still himself. "Don't bother with the Jedi. They steal little kids away from their parents and brainwash them into becoming obedient soldiers, and suppress emotion so that they can't fall in love with anybody. And when all those pent-up emotions snap, the masters just shake their heads like they've failed and you're a mistake and you must be stopped."

Luke stared blankly. "Huh?"

Padmé rushed to fix everything. "What he _means_ is, while there were many problems with the order, it's okay to dream about being as skilled with the Force as he was."

"Is," Anakin corrected as Luke's eyes lit up. They were blue, like his father's were _supposed_ to be.

"Can you teach me to make stuff float in the air?" Luke asked with a dreamy look in his eyes. Padmé laughed and so did Anakin. Maybe a couple five-year-olds would be mostly all it took to turn her husband back to the light.

"I can back at home," Anakin told him gently.

Luke jumped up and down in elation. "I'm going home with you guys?"

"Of course," Padmé said with a smile. "Of course you are."

" _What?!_ " Beru stomped into the room. "No, I have raised this boy and I intend to continue to raise him!"

"Just just want more help on your farm!" Anakin stood up and gave Beru a dangerous look that made her freeze. Padmé put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, don't scare her with your authority," Padmé reminded him.

"Or yours, since you're Empress now," he reminded her. Beru gasped.

"Wait - what?"

"The throne needs a little balance," she vaguely responded to make both Anakin and Beru satisfied as they could be with any answer to that particular question. "And yes, we'll be taking our son home. I understand if that's a lot for you and Owen to digest, but in the end, we really are the rulers of the galaxy anyway, so you kind of have to." She gave Beru an apologetic smile. Anakin looked happy with Padmé _finally_ owning her power.

Beru sighed and shook her head. "I have literally no idea what's going on here, but Padmé, I'm going to trust your judgement. Never leave them alone with -" Then she thought better of making Anakin (Darth Vader) angry and just walked over to Luke. "Hey, Lukie. I understand if this is a lot for you to process, but -"

"I wanna go home with Mommy and Daddy!" Luke jumped up and down excited.

"Well -" Beru stuttered. "O - okay, then. Go with... your parents." She may not have pronounced the "s" at the end of "parents," but they all pretended not to notice.

"I can't wait to go back with you guys," the five-year-old said.

"We have one last stop first," Padmé informed him. "To get your twin sister."

" _I HAVE A TWIN SISTER_?"

"And she's the princess of Alderaan."

Luke's mouth hung open, and Padmé and Anakin laughed. And again, she saw a flicker of blue in her husband's eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I'll represent the light/dark side with what color his eyes are so don't judge me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll continue to update! If you have any comments or constructive criticism (not hate), I'm happy to hear it!


	8. Chapter 8

"I'm going to go outside!" Little Leia couldn't stay inside for very long. She could navigate the enormous building she lived in, but she preferred the giant fields of daisies and other beautiful flowers. She liked to dance, her little white dress flowing around her. She was learning ballet, but while she began on her general routines, and always ended up improvising, much to the delight of Bail and Breha Organa. They believed she would be quite the dancer someday, and she was currently the most intelligent little five-year-old in the galaxy.

Leia, with her arms to the side and her leg high in the air, spun in a graceful circle one wouldn't think possible of a five-year-old, even one who had taken private ballet lessons her entire life. She, as a princess, was quite privileged. She paused to pick one of the daisies, giggling because she didn't get in trouble. It was then that a little cute ship began to descend on the field.

Leia was confused. This was not anywhere for a ship to land. When the two people inside stepped out, Leia called to them in her cute little voice what she'd always been taught to say if she saw anybody sketchy on their property: "This is royal property and you are trespassing." She hoped she said the last word right - it was really big, and she'd been practicing in her room. She would take her little cardboard sword and swing it around. She was a wild princess.

But then the woman walked into the light, and Leia recognized her. "Mommy!" She ran forward and wrapped her arms around her mother's legs. "Mom and Dad didn't tell me you were coming."

She always confused herself, because she called both her moms "Mom." But it didn't matter when they weren't in the same room.

"You're as beautiful a dancer as always," her biological mother told her. "Just delightful to watch. And we weren't originally planning on coming - this is a surprise visit, even for us. It's why we're not landing in an actual landing spot."

"I can see my daughter now?" Said the man, also stepping into the light. His hood was up, and his eyes were yellow, making him scary. Leia hid behind her mom's leg.

"Mommy, who's the scary guy?" she whispered.

This made the man angry, so her mom had to put a hand on his shoulder and tell him to calm down. "Don't scare her, Ani."

"My name -" He sighed. "Okay, I'll be Anakin _just_ to talk to my daughter." He threw back his hood to reveal sandy blonde hair. "Leia... I'm your father."

"My real one?" Leia asked in awe.

"And I'm your brother!" A little boy about her age ran out of the ship.

"Luke, we told you to stay put until we told you to come out," her mom scolded. The boy named Luke shrank.

"Sorry. But Leia I'm your brother!" He jumped up and down excitedly. Leia's smile widened all the way.

"I have a brother? I always wanted a little brother!"

"You're twins," her dad corrected.

"Hey, little brother," Leia said, skipping up to shake his hand like a well brought up princess. Luke, unsure, took it and shook it.

"Yeah, we're twins, Leia."

"In fact, Luke is a few seconds older than you," her mom informed her. Leia sighed.

"But we're twins, so it doesn't matter," she informed them all. She looked at her mother hopefully. "You're here with the father I didn't know I had and the brother I didn't know I had. Does that mean I'm going home with you?"

Her mom smiled warmly. "Yes. We're going to have a less broken family now."

"Where?"

The man began to explain, "At the imperial -"

" _Imperial_?!" Leia and Luke shrieked at the same time.

"We're gonna be royalty?" Luke realized in awe.

"I'm already Alderaanian royalty," Leia considered... "but this is _galactic_ royalty we're talking about!"

"You're father is the emperor of the galaxy," her mom exclaimed, eliciting a gasp from Luke and Leia, but her smile seemed almost forced. Like she wasn't sure about the Empire anyway.

"This is awesome!" Luke exclaimed. "I didn't realize I was, like, royalty! You're the single highest ranking person in the galaxy!" Then he paused. "But the Emperor kills people. Right?"

"Not those who cooperate," their dad said. Leia wasn't sure how to feel about that, but her five-year-old mind decided to interpret it as _good_. Like, she just found out her dad is emperor of the galaxy!

"So am I going with you now?" Leia asked excitedly.

"Yes," her dad said.

"You need to tell Bail and Breha, Anakin," her mom reminded him.

The fire returned to the man's eyes, making him menacing once again. He threw back up his hood. "Alright - they'd better cooperate, or we might have problems."

Her mom looked worried. "Don't do anything rash, Anakin!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been forever since I updated. Literally six days. I usually update everyday, so my readers are pretty spoiled. Still, I hope you guys still enjoy and didn't give up on this fanfic!


	9. Chapter 9

Padmé decided that her children were the smartest almost-six-year-olds in the galaxy. They already knew a great deal about royalty and rankings in the Empire and stuff like that. Still, they hadn't even heard any of the whispers about Darth Vader, so when they found out their father went by that name they didn't even care. They were clearly sheltered children... and now they were about to be raised in a way she'd never imagined when she first found out about her pregnancy. Anakin was a person she'd never imagined him becoming. He was a _Sith_. And she was an Empress, and her children were being raised in the biggest building in the galaxy.

***

Leia was in awe at the size of her new home. She didn't know much about the Empire - just that she was now an _extremely_ important kid. While her castle back on Alderaan had been admittedly enormous, it didn't even compare to her new home.

There was even a staircase down from her room that led directly outside, to a field much like the one at her home on Alderaan. It wasn't as pretty and had less flowers, but it worked for dance.

***

Luke had never seen any place so big.

First he finds out that he has a twin sister who is a princess, and then he learns he's an Imperial Prince? This was like a dream, only it was _real_. He hoped his Aunt and Uncle would visit sometimes, but this was a life he'd never imagined. Suddenly, he was allowed to do literally whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it, and the sole purpose of everyone in the building was to appease him and his family.

He'd often dreamed of his mother, Padmé Amidala Naberrie, taking him home with her - but he couldn't possibly have dreamed up something as amazing and surreal as this.

***

Darth Vader was actually quite pleased to have his family. His power as a Sith and his ranking as Emperor had made him quite important, something he relished. But he'd been trying all those years to forget his love for Padmé, which rushed back as soon as she was taken prisoner. And now, not only did she take his offer to be the Empress, but also brought him his children to live with him. The twinkles in the eyes of his children made him feel almost like Anakin again. Maybe he wasn't Darth Vader and _not_ Anakin. Maybe Darth Vader was the same as Anakin, except that it showed his power and made him sound more menacing.

So he'd allow Padmé to call him by that name. That name he'd hadn't heard in forever.

***

Padmé, meanwhile, was watching Leia dance outside from the balcony, carefree. Padmé had quickly arranged for her to be able to continue her private ballet lessons, and while there was a beautiful dance studio for her to learn in, she always insisted on practicing outside. Her little girl was the sweetest thing.

"She's a lovely dancer, isn't she?" The voice of Anakin - yes, _Anakin_ \- said from behind her. Padmé turned to see him leaning against the wall behind her. It reminded her of when she was first pregnant, and they'd been speaking about the possibility of raising their children on Naboo. He was still a Jedi at the time. She had to remind herself that now, he was a Sith.

"Better than most adults I know," Padmé replied. Anakin made his way out onto the balcony to join her. She wasn't force-sensitive, but now she was pretty sure she understood when Anakin said he could "sense" things. She could definitely sense Anakin slowly learning to love again. That was the only thing that could change him back from being a Sith. Love.

"I never knew she danced," Anakin admitted. "I didn't know much about either of them. Apparently, Luke already knows basic cooking."

"At five?" Padmé exclaimed. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"In the kitchen with the others, he was on a rather high stool and helping them prepare food... using tools I think it's dangerous for anybody under the age of twelve to use." Anakin laughed. "I'll give it to Owen and Beru - they taught him _some_ good things."

Down on the ground, Luke ran out to join Leia as she did five pirouettes in a row before leaping and lifting her leg high behind her. "Whoa!" Little Luke exclaimed. "How do you do that?"

Leia shrugged as she stopped dancing, though the way she walked across the field with Luke was just as elegant. "I don't know what you mean."

"Like, how do you balance like that?" He wondered. "Or do that many turning things?"

"Pirouettes," Leia corrected. "And I don't know. I was taught in dance class, but I feel like I'm gathering this energy around me... it's quite elegant, actually." (This sweetheart was clearly raised in a palace.) "It's like it assists me in every way possible. Like I command it. Do you know what I mean?"

Luke shook his head. "No idea. Can you teach me?"

"I'll try," Leia decided.

Padmé looked over at Anakin, who was studying Leia intently. "What's the matter?"

"How?" He whispered. "How does she already know the ways of the Force? She's not trained. I expected her to be force-sensitive, but this... is unexpected."

"You used it in podracing before you knew about your power," Padmé reminded him. "It makes sense that she would be as powerful as you."

"I am... so proud of her," Anakin said, so softly Padmé could have imagined it. But for some reason, she was sure she didn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I have a theory that Leia picked up on the Force more naturally than Luke.
> 
> Hear me out. Or read, or whatever.
> 
> Luke had a little trouble as first, and then as his training progressed, he got better and better with the Force until his powers were legendary. But Leia, when she was a baby, actually remembered Padmé, even though she saw her for less time than Luke. Also, she said in Return of the Jedi - with absolutely no training at all - "It wasn't Darth Vader... I can feel it." And in the sequels, she becomes a master really fast.
> 
> So that's just how I see it. Besides, it would make her a super cool ballet dancer.
> 
> Yes, I am using midi-chlorians to explain why these five-year-olds sound like educated twelve-year-olds. No judgement please.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're going to assume Anakin didn't, you know, wipe out the Jedi order in this particular way of things working out.

"Master Kenobi?" Fourteen-year-old Kasira asked Obi-Wan. It was clear something was troubling him, especially sense she brought up the idea there could be a problem with the codes of the Jedi order especially now that they were mostly an underground system because of the Sith Empire. "Is everything alright?"

Obi-Wan nodded, but Kasira wasn't having it. "Master, that's not true. I can sense it."

Obi-Wan looked at her, surprised. "You... are very strong, Kasira. I'm very proud of you."

"What's bothering you?" She pushed.

Obi-Wan sighed. "My last apprentice left the order. He, too, questioned the code, and when his formerly secret wife had children, he ran away with her."

"Oh." Kasira looked down at the floor, unsure of what to say. Eventually, to snuff out the awkward silence, she apologized. "I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be. I... should have seen it sooner." Obi-Wan shook his head and sighed. "I should have supported him. Now, nobody's seen him or Padmé for over five years."

"Padmé?" Kasira checked. Obi-Wan nodded. She'd remembered hearing the masters talking about the new Empress at the side of the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader, and her name was supposedly Padmé Amidala Naberrie. "Like, the new Empress?"

His head snapped up. "Empress? Have you heard anything else about her?"

"Surely you know?" Kasira wondered.

"Of course I know. But her name is Padmé?" Obi-Wan scratched his head. "That makes no sense. She'd never fall for a Sith... unless it's a different Padmé. Last name?"

"Naberrie. Padmé Amidala Naberrie."

Obi-Wan's face betrayed that this was, indeed, the woman who had married his former apprentice. "This makes no sense," he muttered. "She was a senator! Her allegiance, like ours, was always to democracy! She would never support an Empire, let alone rule as Empress... or fall in love with a _Sith Lord_!" He shook his head and put it in his hands. "Oh, I can't believe... what even is this? A plot for her to restore the republic? Does this have to do with the rebel alliance?"

Kasira shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know much about it. Are Sith even capable of loving?"

Obi-Wan looked trouble. "I didn't think so." An incoming message interrupted their conversation - a message from... wait... ironically, that was Padmé, the very person they'd been speaking of. "Padmé?" He whispered. "Is that you?"

"Yes," she stated calmly. "I have been secretly working with the rebel alliance, something only Bail Organa knows."

Obi-Wan was totally freaked out, and Kasira could see why. One minute he finds out that a former senator nobody has seen in five years is now the Empress at the side of a Sith Lord, and then she calls in out of nowhere and apparently she's been _working with the rebel alliance_! "Padmé, I am so confused. I was just talking about you - you are the Empress now?" He noticed that she was in a very elegant black dress, one that would suit dark imperial royalty very well.

Padmé looked down. "Yes. I am. It's... part of a plan to fix Darth Vader." She looked back up. "But all of you need to make sure the rebel base on Yavin 4 is evacuated by tomorrow night. Ana - I mean, Vader is planning an attack."

But Obi-Wan was more interested in what she'd almost called the Emperor. "What did you almost say instead of Vader?"

"Unimportant," she rushed. "But we -"

"Why would you marry a Sith Lord?" Obi-Wan interrupted. "Did you divorce Anakin?" Then Kasira could basically see his heart visibly sinking. "Oh... Ana-kin. He... turned?" He whispered, like he was unable to believe it. Kasira knew this must be hard.

Padmé looked down, which said it all.

"I..." Obi-Wan sat down, his head in his hands. "I was a part of a secret mission... I..."

"What?" Kasira and Padmé asked at the same time.

"Tomorrow, I'm supposed to infiltrate the Imperial Palace and confront Darth Vader. Kill him. End the Empire." Obi-Wan looked up at Padmé. "Of course, when I saw him I would have known. Knowing he is Anakin changes everything. I will not... I _cannot_ kill Anakin."

"You were going to kill him?" Padmé whispered.

"Who knows about this?" Kasira asked him in a similarly low tone.

"Just the Jedi Council. The assignment is not to be on record." He looked up at Padmé. "How can you still love him, knowing everything he's done?"

Padmé sighed and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she said evenly, "I'm going to try to turn him back into a Jedi."

"How?"

"Love," she said simply. "Compassion is what makes a Jedi a Jedi. He needs to think about others. Luke and Leia, our children, are now living in the palace with us. I'm giving him a family. People to care about." Then she looked Obi-Wan straight in the eye. "Go forward with your mission. Come to confront him, pretend you do not know he is Anakin. He cares about you... he will not dare to kill you any more than you would dare to kill him."

"He is a Sith now, Padmé." Obi-Wan shook his head. "You have no way of knowing..."

"I can see him softening," Padmé whispered distantly. "I'm not force-sensitive, but it's like I can _feel_ it, too. Why is this possible?"

Kasira spoke up. "If you had children with a Jedi or Sith of the power of Darth Vader, wouldn't some of their midi-chlorians be released into your blood?" Then she shrank. They'd forgotten she was there, and she probably should have stayed out of it.

But Obi-Wan smiled. "My young padawan is very bright." He turned back to Padmé. "I'd assume that to be a possibility too. I will go on with my mission." He turned to Kasira. "Find someone from the council or the rebel alliance, and tell them to send communication to Yavin 4. It must be evacuated if what Padmé says is true." He looked Padmé square in the eye. "We will turn Darth Vader back into Anakin, Padmé. I know we will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three chapters in a day again - now THIS is the pace you guys are used to. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Kudos and comments are always appreciated!


	11. Chapter 11

Obi-Wan had been to imperial buildings on missions before, but very few had ever actually been to the Imperial Palace, which was where the Emperor himself lived. Those who went in were only those invited, those who lived there, and those who worked there. Nobody else dared to go in.

Except for Obi-Wan on a secret mission to kill the Emperor.

He had his first encounter with palace guards in one of the hallways that he was trying to navigate based on what he could feel in the Force. He used an easy mind trick to get past them, but figured later on he'd use stronger-minded creatures who would be able to resist.

Dang, this place was huge. Like, humongous. He was feeling his way around with the Force, but it wasn't always quite good enough. He was beginning to get lost, and besides - this was a mission to literally kill somebody he now knew was a very dear friend of his. What if Padmé was wrong, and he tried to kill him anyway? Where did that leave Obi-Wan? He'd have to fight Anakin - could he do that?

He was right about the better palace guards.

He could tell he was getting close. The Emperor would be in one of the rooms closeby. But first he needed to sneak past -

"Hey!" Three creatures blocked him from entering. "Do you have business here?"

"I'm here to see the Emperor," he tried. But they needed a direct invitation.

He was trying to think on the tips of his toes when a little five-year-old boy ran out of one of the rooms and gasped. "Mr. Obi-Wan!" He ran up to him and hugged his legs, and Obi-Wan couldn't help but smile. He'd visited little Luke occasionally with his mother, and Luke considered his visits a special treat. "Mom told me you might be visiting today!"

The slightly confused palace guards allowed Obi-Wan through.

"Why are you here?" Luke asked, holding his hand. Obi-Wan had never seen Luke this well dressed, or this happy. _He must love the palace_ , Obi-Wan thought. _He doesn't know what his father has done, then._

"To see your father," Obi-Wan said truthfully. "But I'd love to see you and your sister here, too."

"You visit Leia too?" Luke jumped up and down. "This is so exciting! Leia's probably dancing. She loves doing that, you know."

Obi-Wan smiled. "I know. I've seen her dance, she's quite graceful."

"She tried to explain it to me." Luke's face contorted. "It was weeeird. Like, some sort of weird energy that was holding her up and helping her do everything. She said she was telling it what to do. What's that supposed to mean?"

Obi-Wan knew exactly what he was talking about. He contemplated telling the truth. If Leia was picking up on the Force this early, Luke would probably figure it out soon too, and maybe it would be good for him to know at that point. "She probably means the Force," he decided to say.

"Huh?"

"Someday, if you've inherited your father midi-chlorians, you'll understand it perfectly well," Obi-Wan vaguely told him. Luke huffed.

"But I want to know _now_!"

"How about _now_ , you show me where I can find your father," Obi-Wan asked of Luke. He didn't have to worry about anybody around the halls anymore - Luke was basically a walking talking invitation to be in the palace.

Luke shrugged. "Okay." He grabbed his hand and dragged him through the halls and up some stairs - _this kid knew his way around this place?_ \- and soon Obi-Wan found himself right outside a room that was apparently Anakin's.

"That's Daddy's room," he informed him. "I'm gonna go tell Leia you're here!" Luke skipped off, and Obi-Wan smiled sadly after him.

"You do that."

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, not sure how ready he was for this task. He raised his fist and knocked on the door.

"Padmé, is that you?" Anakin's voice called. Obi-Wan waited. "No. It's not Padmé, your Force signature is..." Anakin's voice darkened as it trailed off. Obi-Wan opened the door and stepped into the room.

Anakin's bloodshot yellow eyes darkened and he crossed his arms. "Hello, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and folded his hands together. "Hello, Anakin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight cliffhanger - don't worry, I'll have the next chapter up in like an hour. There's no way I can leave MYSELF on this cliffhanger, let alone you guys.


	12. Chapter 12

"Hello, Obi-Wan."

"Hello, Anakin."

The former master and apprentice stared at each other for a few seconds. Then Anakin said, "Have you come to try to kill me?"

Obi-Wan looked down. "I'm supposed to. I'm not sure if I can."

Anakin laughed, but not a warm laugh. A cold, dark laugh. "You always were like that, weren't you. Unable to do what needs to be done, just because of those personal attachments you were so set against." Anakin began circling him. "In a way, you were no better at following the Jedi code than I was." Obi-Wan noticed Anakin hadn't tried to kill him yet.

"Are you going to pull your lightsaber on me?" Obi-Wan asked him.

Anakin shook his head and stopped circling him. "This doesn't have to get messy, _master_ ," he said mockingly. "I don't want to kill you, and I know you don't want to kill me. So let's settle this without the lightsabers, shall we?"

Relieved, Obi-Wan nodded. "Thank you for not making me fight you."

"I don't want to fight you," Anakin said quietly, dropping out of character for a moment. "But as long as you refuse to join the Empire - to join _me_ \- I'm afraid that -"

"Anakin!" Padmé opened the door and walked into the room. And then she froze. "Oh. Hello, Obi-Wan." _Where did she take acting class? That was amazing_!

"Padmé," Obi-Wan whispered.

"What's going on?" Padmé asked, pretending to be confused. "What - what's happening? Obi-Wan - are you going to kill him?"

"No," Obi-Wan confidently stated. "I will not kill someone who is like a brother to me." Obi-Wan looked at Anakin and saw what Padmé saw - that he felt the same way.

"Obi-Wan, I hope you realize that I will not become a Jedi ever again," Anakin informed him. "The Jedi are lusting for power just as the Sith, and yet you believe you are good and the Sith are evil?"

"Jedi think only about others!" Obi-Wan reminded him.

Anakin hesitated. "But I think about others."

"Are you thinking about others when you randomly kill them?" Obi-Wan pointed out. "No! You're not."

"Yes I am! When they make me angry..." Anakin trailed off. "Okay yeah, that's pretty inconsiderate. But the Jedi force people to not attach themselves to literally anything! How is that any more considerate than killing people? In a way, it's worse, right?"

Obi-Wan disagreed about it being worse, but... "I'm not saying there aren't problems with the Jedi. But the Sith -"

"Are the same," Anakin cut him off. "I'm not going to just go join your narrow-minded -"

"You don't have to become a Jedi!" Obi-Wan stopped him. Anakin looked confused.

"Then, uh, why are you even here?"

"So you'll stop being a Sith," Obi-Wan told him, thinking maybe he was getting somewhere. "Stop hurting people and running an authoritarian government. Not blow up planets. Billions of lives are on your hands."

Anakin was maintaining his face out of arrogance, but Obi-Wan could feel his consideration in the Force. "I'll take one piece of advice here: Maybe not waste whole planets. Or randomly kill perfectly good people." That was probably the best he was going to get. "But this is _my_ Empire, and you won't tell me how to rule it." It was then that he pulled out his lightsaber, flicking it on.

It was blood red.

"Now leave before my generosity expires!" Anakin shouted. Obi-Wan nodded and complied. He may have gotten through to him slightly, and Anakin just wouldn't admit it out of arrogance.

Now... he just needed to restore democracy.

He'd need Padmé's help there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was hard to write, because Anakin probably feels like he can't cave to Obi-Wan, but I wanted a little progress so I don't torture you guys TOO badly. Have a nice day and enjoy the story! :)


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